State lawmakers are starting 2006 with a slew of bills on telecom deregulation and taxes, privacy, carphone safety, 911, telemarketing, video franchising and wireless issues.
Washington’s highest state court ruled that underground fiber laid along a railroad right-of-way in Yakima by Level 3 Communications wasn’t allowed under the railroad’s easement and constituted trespassing. Case 75982-1 dated back to 1999, when Level 3 buried fiber along a Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line. The owner of the property the rail line ran though, Kershaw Sunnyside Ranches, said the fiber cable was outside the scope of the railroad’s easement and Level 3 should have negotiated with the landowner for permission. The owners sued in 2000 when Level 3 balked. Level 3 argued the current owners didn’t have standing to sue because they didn’t get an interest in the right of way when the land was transferred from previous owners, and the fiber was covered by a clause that allowed uses incidental to transportation purposes. Lower state courts upheld Level 3, but the Wash. Supreme Court reversed, ruling the current owner did get a legal interest in the railroad right of way when it acquired the land, so it had standing. It also said fiber went beyond incidental use as defined in the easement agreement, and Level 3 should have negotiated a separate easement or filed an eminent domain case before laying its fiber.
Several factors have merged to make a 2006 U.S. ban on Internet gambling unlikely, Sportingbet CEO Nigel Payne said in an interview. With mid-term elections in Nov., Congress has a brief session, with “must-pass” bills given priority. There'll be scant time for controversial bills, so anyone -- such as Sen. Kyl (R-Ariz.) -- aiming at Internet gambling won’t bring a separate bill but an amendment. And, Payne said, Kyl is likely to have a real fight on his hands trying to get re-elected, which will gobble his time. A 2nd factor making Internet gambling curbs less likely is that the cadre that opposed them last year -- the banking and online gaming industries, dog- and horseracing bodies, and Indian tribes -- still oppose them, and are even more unified. There even has been a “sea change” in the attitude of U.S. land-based casinos, now more alert to issues the sports, banking and other sectors have raised. Payne expects a far more single- minded approach by year’s end, with an even better 2007 outlook with regard to the U.S. view on online gaming, he said: “I'm very relaxed about how 2006 is starting and how it’s going to end.” The U.S. isn’t a barrier to Internet gambling, but emergence since 1999 of several huge companies (such as his own U.K.-based enterprise) will make it tough for new entrants, Payne said. Asked about the U.K. govt.’s planned global summit on online gaming, he said it will be “a fantastic thing” if regulators focus on how to regulate the industry “well and properly” and agree on international standards.
On December 16, 2005, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (the Border Security Bill). The following are highlights of some of the trade-related provisions of H.R. 4437.
Internet firms operating under harsh regimes might land in the Capitol Hill hot seat in Feb., as a House caucus and panel plan hearings on company-abetted censorship, filtering and monitoring in China and elsewhere. The Human Rights Subcommittee and Human Rights Caucus are making witness lists that tentatively include Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site its quarterly report on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) entitled Report to Congress: The Automated Commercial Environment. This report is dated September 30, 2005 and covers the July 1, 2005 - September 30, 2005 period.
TAMPA -- Cable operators and tech vendors -- hearing heavy footsteps from the major regional phone companies -- are seriously examining many ways to expand the cable industry’s bandwidth and hasten its migration to IP-delivered TV services.
TAMPA -- Cable operators and tech vendors -- hearing heavy footsteps from the major regional phone companies -- are seriously examining many ways to expand the cable industry’s bandwidth and hasten its migration to IP-delivered TV services.
Boeing said it booked its largest commercial satellite contract in 9 years, in a Wed. announcement that it will build 3 geostationary spacecraft for Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV). MSV CEO Alexander Good said the deal is worth $500 million-$1 billion -- a boon to Boeing’s commercial satellite business, which has been plagued by slowdowns in manufacturing demand and in-orbit satellite troubles.
Boeing said it booked its largest commercial satellite contract in 9 years, in a Wed. announcement that it will build 3 geostationary spacecraft for Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV). MSV CEO Alexander Good said the deal is worth $500 million-$1 billion -- a boon to Boeing’s commercial satellite business, which has been plagued by slowdowns in manufacturing demand and in-orbit satellite troubles.